- “The author of the journals, my brother.”
- ―Stan after Ford steps out of the portal
Stanford Filbrick "Ford" Pines, a.k.a. The Author, is the mysterious writer of journals 1, 2 and 3 in the series Gravity Falls.
Role in the series
The identity of The Author has been hinted at throughout the series, from the moment Dipper discovered journal #3 hidden in a metal compartment in the woods near the Mystery Shack. The Author also made small appearances in "Gideon Rises" in Li'l Gideon's flashbacks. In "Scary-oke", during the Zombie attack, Dipper realized that some notes and even entire pages of journal #3 were written in invisible ink which could only be seen through ultraviolet light, leading him to discover The Author's hidden underground bunker and the Shape Shifter trapped within in "Into the Bunker." While in the bunker, a laptop brief case belonging to The Author was discovered by Soos, which revealed that The Author's name starts with the letter "F." In the "Society of the Blind Eye" it was revealed that Old Man McGucket was The Author's assistant, and in "Not What He Seems", it was finally revealed that The Author is in fact the twin brother of Stanley Pines.
History
Early Life
Stanford (left) and Stanley (right).
Twin brothers Stanford and Stanley Pines were very close during their childhood years in New Jersey, being each other's sole friend. Ford in particular was often mocked by the local kids for having an extra finger on each hand. The two spent much of their time at Glass Shard Beach, exploring, hanging out on the swings, and working on their pet project - an abandoned sail ship they found and fixed up over the years, dubbed the "Stan o' War." During high school, Ford, the more studious of the two, was offered the chance to receive a scholarship to a prestigious college, West Coast Tech. However, Stanley, fearing this scholarship would come between the brother's plans to sail across the country on the Stan o' War, vented his frustration against Ford's science project, a perpetual motion machine, accidentally breaking it in the process - ruining Ford's chances of being accepted into the college and creating a rift between the two. After this incident, Stanley was kicked out of his parent's house and became a traveling salesman, while Ford was accepted into a less than prestigious school, Backupsmore University.
Research Years and Disappearance
Stanford writing in Journal 3.
During his time at Backupsmore, Ford decided to major in studying anomalies, inspired by his own anomaly of having six fingers on each hand. During his research, he came to realize that the most concentrated point of mysterious anomalies in the United States was located in Gravity Falls, Oregon. After creating a research center there and encountering several fantastical creatures in the woods, Ford began to keep his notes in a series of journals, eventually coming to the conclusion that the anomalies were leaking through from a different dimension. During his studies, Ford was visited in his dreams by a mysterious supernatural creature promising him knowledge and inspiration, which Ford accepted. Employing his new found knowledge and the assistance of fellow Backupsmore graduate Fiddleford McGucket, Ford built a portal into the mysterious alternate dimension. However, when the two scientists attempted to test their machine, Fiddleford was accidentally partially sucked in through to the other side, where he apparently saw something horrifying, prompting him to quit the project. Soon enough, Ford began to grasp the dangers of his research as well, eventually coming to realize Bill's malevolent nature. After ten years of remaining out of contact with Stanley, Ford eventually reached out to his brother for help in hiding his journals to stop the portal from ever being used, but Stanley, feeling neglected, would not comply. After a fight between the two, Ford was accidentally thrust into the portal through to the other dimension, becoming trapped on the other side, while Stanley was left alone in the research center with only the first of the three journals, lacking two thirds of the knowledge needed to work the machine to bring his brother back.
Stanley eventually faked his own death and took on Stanford's identity in order to keep the research center as his permanent place of residence while he searched for a way to bring the real Stanford back. In order to make an income, Stanley, now known by the Gravity Falls locals as Stanford Pines (or by his pseudonym "Mr. Mystery"), turned the research center into a tourist attraction, the Mystery Shack.
Return
Stanford confronting Stanley.
Many years after becoming Mr. Mystery, Stanley's grand niece and nephew Dipper and Mabel Pines came over one year to spend their summer break at the Mystery Shack. During this time, Dipper discovered journal #3 in the woods, and quickly became enthralled by the information it presented, using it to learn more about the supernatural occurrences of Gravity Falls. After taking back journal #2 from Li'l Gideon, Stanley finally had all three journals back and used them to open the portal hidden under the Shack, successfully rescuing Ford. However, once Ford returned, he immediately chastised Stan for re-activating the portal and risking untold danger.
Back at the Shack
Stanford met his grand niece and nephew Dipper and Mabel for the first time the day he returned through the portal from the alternate dimension. After some prompting from Dipper, Mabel, and Mystery Shack employee Soos, Stanford and Stanley explained their story to the three. Later that night, Ford tells Stan that he plans on giving him until the end of the summer to move out of the Shack.
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